An exploration of pizza in and around Rochester, NY, one pizzeria at a time

Friday, June 19, 2015

Jreck Fusion, Greece - CLOSED

NOTE: This establishment has closed.
There are certain establishments that I've known about for a long time, but just never got to. Such is Jreck Subs.
It's a name I've seen around, and although I get the occasional sub here and there, I just never paid much attention to Jreck. I knew it was a chain, of some sort, but I'd never heard anything about it, and it just never occurred to me to go there.
But I recently heard of a new place, Jreck Fusion, in Greece. This got my attention because they offer pizza.
I've since looked at their company history online. Jreck is a regional chain centered around Syracuse. Jreck Fusion is a relatively recent addition to the chain, offering subs, pizza, and "froyo," which is short for frozen yogurt.
I picked up a cheese slice and a pepperoni slice the other day. They looked good, at least initially. Thery were thin, with a layer of melted, slightly browned cheese.As I examined them further, however, two things struck me. First, the slices were not just foldable, there were rollable. There was no underlying crispness or backbone. And the cheese slice in particular was rather pale underneath.Now I should note that I declined to have these slices rewarmed. Maybe that would've helped. But I was also told that they had just come out of the oven, and I'm sure that's true, because they were steaming hot. Maybe I should have had them rewarmed, just to crisp them up. I think some pizzerias may intentionally take out pies a little early, to use for slices, to allow them to be reheated without getting overdone.
Understandable, but if that's what they do, they should let the customer know.
The slices were very thin, and the undersides were crisscrossed by screen marks. I like a thin crust, but I still like an interior to the crust, and these didn't have much of an interior to speak of. They were almost like thick flour tortillas.
That's unfortunate, because the toppings were pretty good. The cheese was well melted, a bit browned, and stretchy. (The fact that the cheese was a little browned, though, makes me think that if I'd had the slice rewarmed, any added crispness imparted to the crust might've come at the expense of the cheese, which might've gotten overcooked.) The sauce was tomatoey, with a nice balance of sweetness, acidity and salt, and the pepperoni was crisp.
Jreck Fusion offers a wide variety of specialty pizza (the menu is available on their Facebook page), including chicken pesto, Philly steak, and Country Sweet. Pizzas come in 14" and 18" sizes.
Their are also two dozen subs on offer, both hot and cold, as well as calzones, a few sides, a couple salads, and a "Fusion Plate," their version of Rochester's signature dish.
And there's the aforementioned "froyo," which interestingly, is priced by the ounce - 48 cents an ounce, to be exact, though there's a $0.25/oz. special Monday through Thursday from 2 - 4 p.m. (Not a criticism, but I always figured people get frozen yogurt because it's supposed to be better for you than ice cream, mostly because it's lower in fat. So I find it a little humorous to see that the available toppings include Oreo's, Reese's Pieces, and cookie dough.)
So a mixed bag here, from my perspective. The pizza tasted good, and there was a lot to like. But I found it wanting in the crust department. If Jreck Fusion can get the crust more crisp underneath, and maybe give it a little more rising time, I think they'll have some seriously good pizza. I'm hopeful in that regard and I'll be interested to see how things go.

Ratings Guide

A: great; one of the best this area has to offerB: pretty good; not top-notch, but definitely good, and better than averageC: OK; nothing special, but it’ll do; typical for our areaD: edible; if you’ve already paid for it, you might as well eat itF: downright bad; toss it and get something else